Early yesterday morning I was doing some more research on the Internet on tapering- the preparation period in the couple of weeks before a marathon when your running tapers down and your eating increases. Goody I thought. The advice I read yesterday, from a good source, Runners' World magazine, actually advised a 3 week prep period with the long run (20miles) last weekend, as opposed to the 2 week period I'd previously read about. Hmm, I thought, well it's a bit late for that now as we'd planned all along to do 20miles yesterday then ease down from there. So, we decided to go for the 20 and stick with original plans.
I did everything to spec for marathon day, down to clothing etc as well. And when I put on my red Ormiston running vest not only was I pleasantly surprised by the reflection in the mirror (contrary to popular belief Lycra can cover a multitude of sins if it's particularly supportive) but I felt very excited for the first time, and really quite proud.
So anyway, got to Tree's, had a mini photo shoot in our gear (will get some pics up later) and got ready to hit the road. It was hot, really not nice to run in. Tree wasn't relishing the thought of running for longer than she'd had hours sleep (poor Tree didn't get back from a weekend away until the early hours to face the prospect of a 20miler in sunny Colchester) but determined to do it.
We were going ok, pacing ourselves, focused on the task ahead then out of nowhere Tree suffered a bit of a panic attack at 9 miles. Never had one before, not sure what caused it, but pretty scary. So, once Tree had calmed down and got her breath we walked for a few hundred yards then a gentle jog the last half mile back to the house. By this point Tree was absolutely fine, back to normal but...
One of the things we have developed in this training is adaptability and as much as it would have been a psychological boost to know we'd done the magic 20 before race day, you also need to be sensible and to react to circumstances as they arise. So we regrouped at Tree's, filled up on water, packed our swimming things, and did another 4.5miles ish with back packs (for me that was worse than the ten without, so uncomfortable!) to the local pool/ mini spa where we then enjoyed an afternoon of switching between jacuzzis, steam rooms and the cold plunge (me, not Tree, chicken ;D) all in the name of aiding blood flow to muscles and boosting recovery. And it really did help. I can actually walk up stairs today. I also bopped down to a low cupboard and up again. Accompanied by a loud cracking sounds form my knees but still an improvement on last time!
So, tapering. The RW plan was something like- 3 weekends before 20 miles (we did 18 so not too far off :S), 2 weekend before 12-14miles (14.5, get in), 1 weekend before 8-10miles (you'll be lucky! Pretty busy, might be able to squeeze in 5-7 miles). Also meant to be doing short runs (no more than 4miles) on some of the days in between. So not quite the restful week of eating I'd previously envisaged but I will do whatever I have to in order to be as prepared as possible in the last couple of weeks.
Eating wise, we've now upped our protein for a few days to aid muscle repair and recovery and decreased carbs a little to balance the calorie intake. My last run will be either next Wednesday or Thursday afternoon and it'll probably be next Wednesday onwards that I will properly carb it up. Lots of pasta and bread and fruit and veg. Good fats are also advised, nuts, seeds etc, vitamin C as our immune systems are vulnerable with all this intense running malarky. Any chocolate etc will be stored as glycogen, so it's all valid, but I'm going to try and just be a bit restrained and sensible and go for the complex carbs that are lower in fat. High trans-fats are out (bye bye icecream) and Sensible Sue is here.
But even with just 11 days to go the battle this afternoon has been Minstrels or no Minstrels? It's a no-brainer really, to have come this far the answer is (of course) no Minstrels. And I've held out (mini cheer for me, whoop!), but I do need to get a grip on my chocolate consumption habits because once the running dies down they'll be no saving grace for my tummy anymore!
Please keep supporting us to the bitter end!!!!
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